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Posts by: Matin Durrani
The May 2013 issue of Physics World is now live
Physics World May 2013.
By Matin Durrani
We’re sometimes accused here at Physics World of being hopelessly in awe of supposedly esoteric science such as the Higgs boson or quantum entanglement. In fact, as if to prove the point, the lead news story and the lead feature in the May issue of Physics World are on those very topics!
However, the new issue of the magazine – which you can read online and via our apps – also contains some very down-to-Earth physics in the form of an article that describes how special “wave bypass” structures could enable bridges to cope with potentially damaging vibrations. The most famous example of such destruction was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge – the falling-apart of which you can watch in our archive video clip on page 33 of the digital magazine.
Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the exciting potential of the brain-imaging technique of magnetoencephalography, while we have a great careers article this month outlining the benefits of a career as a scientific consultant.
Cash sought to finish Salam film
By Matin Durrani
I have always felt a bit uncomfortable about the “heroic” view of science – the idea that the most significant progress depends on the work of individual geniuses. Unfortunately, this is the way in which many people view scientific history, with the contributions of lesser mortals dismissed and swept aside.
However, it is fair to say that some physicists do stand head and shoulders above all others – none more so than Abdus Salam, who was (and still is) Pakistan’s only Nobel prize-winner.
Now two Pakistani film producers, Omar Vandal and Zakir Thaver, are creating a feature-length documentary about Salam’s scientific contributions – but they need your help to finish the job.
The April 2013 issue of Physics World is now live
Physics World April 2013.
By Matin Durrani
If you’re a member of the Institute of Physics, the April 2013 issue of Physics World is now ready to view online or through our apps.
This month marks the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick and – to celebrate that milestone – we have a great feature on an unusual aspect of the famous double helix: namely, how knot theory can help us to understand how and why DNA tangles up.
Elsewhere in the issue, we continue the biophysics theme by looking at the damage caused to the human brain by blows from sports injuries or by the shock waves from exploding bombs. This is not traditional physics territory by any means, but surely there is no harm in physicists bringing a fresh perspective to such matters?
Our final feature this month looks at the history of Maxwell’s demon – the tiny being originally devised by James Clerk Maxwell as a thought experiment to evade the second law of thermodynamics. But, as Philip Ball explains, some of the physicist’s contemporaries actually believed it was an intelligent being that could bridge hidden worlds and provide a scientific route to immortality of the human soul.
Quantum frontiers – free PDF download
By Matin Durrani
Physics World March 2013.
If you’re a member of the Institute of Physics, you’ll have had access for almost a week now to the March 2013 special issue of Physics World on quantum physics – either in print or through our digital issue, which you can access online or via our apps for smartphones and tablets (free from the App Store and Google Play).
But as we know how fascinating so many of you find the quantum world – with all that talk of quantum entanglement, Schrödinger’s cat and spooky action at a distance – we felt we wanted to share the issue more widely. So from today we’re making the issue available as a free downloadable PDF.
Of course, the PDF doesn’t have all the goodies of the digital issue, which this month includes some exclusive quantum-related audio and video content. But there’s still plenty to get stuck into, including a look at the fascinating new paradigm of “weak measurement”, the application of quantum physics to biology, the use of cold atoms to simulate the quantum world, and the use of entanglement for completely secure satellite communication.
The March 2013 issue of Physics World is out now
By Matin Durrani
Physics World March 2013.
If you’re a member of the Institute of Physics, it’s time to get stuck into the March 2013 issue of Physics World, which is a special issue devoted to some of the most interesting cutting-edge work at the frontiers of quantum physics.
Among the highlights are a look at the fascinating new paradigm of “weak measurement”, the application of quantum physics to biology, the use of cold atoms to simulate the quantum world, and the use of entanglement for completely secure satellite communication. Two other articles examine the impact of quantum physics on popular culture and among the physics community itself.
The issue also contains some great multimedia, including the latest in our 100 Second Science video series where physicists at Imperial College London answer key questions in quantum physics in 100 seconds or less.
And if you’re wondering about the cover – it was specially commissioned by us in the style of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, and shows Alice and Bob (the names given by convention to those sending and receiving quantum signals) peering into an ever weirder quantum world. The illustration echoes a similar image that graced the cover of our last special issue on quantum physics exactly 15 years ago this month. That one was also commissioned by us and was voted in 2008 by Physics World readers as one of their favourite covers of all time.
From Mars to the multiverse
By Matin Durrani
Martin Rees, winner of the 2012 Isaac Newton medal, speaking at the Institute of Physics. (Courtesy: Helen Yates Photography)
I travelled to London last night to hear the celebrated astronomer Martin Rees give an entertaining and thought-provoking lecture to more than 100 people at the Institute of Physics as the winner of the 2012 Isaac Newton medal – the Institute’s top award.
Having written more than 500 papers on everything from black holes and gamma-ray bursts to quasars and the dynamics of gas clouds, Rees’s bulging CV also includes spells as president of both the Royal Society and of the Royal Astronomical Society, which I guess makes him a worthy winner of the prize. (I should add that although the Institute publishes Physics World, I was not involved in selecting Rees for the award.)
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Billy Bragg knows nothing
By Matin Durrani
When I was a PhD student at Cambridge in the early 1990s, I remember going to a concert by singer-songwriter Billy Bragg at the Cambridge Corn Exchange. Riding high at the time on a string of classic songs such as “She’s Got a New Spell”, “Shirley” and ”Great Leap Forward”, Bragg had an ear for a great tune and was a great lyricist to boot – who can forget the classic line “How can you lie there and think of England if you don’t even know who’s in the team?”.
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The February 2013 issue of Physics World is out now
By Matin Durrani
It’s the first of the month so – as if by clockwork – the February issue of Physics World is now ready for your enjoyment, in print, online and through our apps.
Our lead news story this month is about how Barack Obama, who was sworn in for a second term as US president last month, deals with the US “fiscal cliff” and what impact any resolution has on funding for science.
Elsewhere, we examine the lasting impact of two famous astronomers – Fred Hoyle and Sir Bernard Lovell. The former’s impact is felt most acutely in the “Hoyle state” – a short-lived excited form of carbon-12 that holds the clue to life in the universe but is still baffling today’s best nuclear physicists. As for Lovell, his notorious visits to the Soviet Union in the 1960s at the height of the Cold War might have been frowned upon by authorities in the West, but they set the tone for international collaboration and helped to pave the way to today’s ITER fusion experiment.
There’s also a great feature on how researchers are gaining valuable information about the black hole Cygnus X-1. Plus don’t miss Peter Kenny’s lateral thoughts about the mysteries of mathematical subtraction and find out why friends hold the key to career success.
Paul Ginsparg reveals mystery blogger
By Matin Durrani
Aaron Swartz at a Creative Commons event. (CC BY Fred Benenson)
It’s surprising the little nuggets of information that come our way here in the Physics World office.
A couple of weeks back, for example, we received an e-mail from Paul Ginsparg, the Cornell University physicist who set up the now-ubiquitous arXiv preprint server more than 20 years ago.
Ginsparg had written a great article for us back in 2008, when Physics World celebrated its 20th anniversary, in which he reflected on the early days of the Web and examined how it has changed scientific communication.
At one point in that article, Ginsparg discussed the growing influence of blogs, describing how he watched someone at a scientific seminar blogging with seemingly expert ease.
“Glancing over my shoulder”, Ginsparg wrote, “I was struck by how a native laptop-user can navigate text and search windows faster than the eye can follow, and assemble references, photos and graphics from multiple sources, simultaneously replying to comments, and in the end spending far less time to assemble a set of useful pedagogic pages, accessible to the entire world, than I spend writing problem-set solutions for a small class.”
All together now
Courtesy: Charles Glover
By Matin Durrani
How do you tackle the world’s biggest problems such as making sure everyone has enough food, clean water, a secure energy supply and access to proper medicine and healthcare?
According to Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the US, the answer lies in a novel kind of research endeavour, which she dubs “the new polytechnic”.
Speaking at the 2013 ERA Foundation international lecture at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London last night, Jackson spelled out the principles of such an endeavour, which would essentially involve bringing researchers from different subjects, countries, cultures and sectors together to work on important multidisciplinary problems.
